1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a brake apparatus for railway vehicles and, more particularly, to a transition plate to accommodate the application of a stand-alone ECP All Electric Manifold (AEM) to an existing Triple Valve brake system.
2. Description of Related Art
Railways of Australia has a standardized pneumatic air brake valve control system, known as a Triple Valve system, which is similar in overall operation to American Association of Railroads (AAR) pneumatic air brake valves (such as the WABCO ABDX), with a pipe bracket, a control valve unit, and a combined reservoir.
Triple Valve equipment does not currently support Electronically Controlled Pneumatic (ECP) functionality and must, instead, be pneumatically controlled. However, ECP braking systems are gaining popularity in the rest of the world and offer many advantages over pneumatic equipment. It is highly desirable to have the ability to apply ECP equipment to railcars to take advantage of the superior braking and safety capabilities offered by ECP equipment.
The ECP brake equipment on each rail vehicle may include a stand-alone All Electric Manifold (AEM), which contains the pressure transducers, various pneumatic and electro-pneumatic valves, etc. This equipment is used to monitor the pressures in the brake pipe, the brake cylinder(s), and specific reservoirs, and to convert the electrical brake commands into a form usable by a microprocessor. Operating according to its programming code and to the dictates of the brake commands and other electrical signals it has received, the microprocessor controls the aforementioned electro-pneumatic valves in a manner well known in the brake control art.
However, AEM units having ECP functionality are not compatible and cannot directly interface with existing Triple Valve equipment due to the slight differences in construction and functionality between the current ECP and Triple Valve systems.